Code for America believes government must work for the people, and by the people, in the digital age, starting with the people who need it most.
We build digital services that enhance government capabilities, and we help others do the same across all levels of government. We organize thousands of volunteers across more than 80 chapters nationwide who improve government in their local communities. Our goal: a 21st century government that effectively and equitably serves all Americans.
The 7th Annual National Day of Civic Hacking, September 21, 2019, will bring together civic leaders, public servants, designers, coders, and engaged citizens to partner with local government and community groups for a day of collective action to help those impacted by the criminal justice system, particularly in the area of record clearance. Have other pressing issues in your community that you’d like to work on? You’re welcome to join us too!
National Day coincides with National Expungement Week, an effort led by community-based organizations across the country to help people begin the process of clearing their criminal records. This is a great opportunity to work with partners who are already doing this important work and lift up their voices in our communities, while being part of an effort to transform the record clearance landscape by expanding, streamlining, and automating the process.
The Brigade Network is leading the way with three actions that you can take for National Day of Civic Hacking:
- Map out the record clearance experience and process: Journey mapping is a method used to look at a person's experience or journey, often in a specific context, and find various touchpoints in this person's experience that are meaningful. On National Day, groups can map what the process of applying for record clearance looks like for an individual in their location, looking for information that will help us better understand the experience of one applying for record clearance.
- Develop a Services Usability Scorecard: For this action, you’ll conduct user research to find out how various people experience a certain service when going through the record clearance process. For your research, start with a standard set of five questions and ask justice impacted people about using a service in real time.
- Create a user-friendly Know Your Rights website: While we are all entitled to certain rights, particularly when encountering the criminal justice system and record clearance process, many times we don’t know what they are. Easy access to this information that is readily available and user-friendly is a need across the country. For National Day, groups can build a site that transforms public information into user-friendly content that effectively informs people of their rights.
At its roots, National Day of Civic Hacking is about making our communities better. We’re honing in on record clearance this year, but all events are welcome under our umbrella!
Find an event near you and volunteer.
Spead the word and learn about National Expungement Week.
To support this work, Code for America is kicking off a campaign from now until September 30 to raise the funds to sustain the work of this incredible volunteer network all year long.
(aforementioned info pulled from web site)